The present invention relates generally to remote control systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a remote control system, suitable for control of consumer electronic products and home appliances, that includes a touch sensitive handheld remote control unit that detects hand size characteristics of the user and adapts the mapping between the user-touch-sensitive surface(s) and a display screen.
Handheld remote control units, typically featuring a large plurality of push buttons, are now quite commonplace on coffee tables throughout the world. With most consumer electronic products, it is customary for the manufacturer to furnish such a handheld remote control with each unit. Thus, most consumers own a collection of various different remote control units, each associated with a particular product or appliance.
In an effort to simplify matters, the Applicants' assignee has developed several different embodiments of a touch-sensitive remote control unit that features a reduced number of push buttons and one or more touch-sensitive touchpads that may be manipulated by the user's fingers or thumb to interact with information on a display screen. The touch pads may be manipulated, for example, to move a selection indicator (such as a cursor or other graphical element) across a control region upon a display screen. In some applications, the display screen will be separate from the handheld remote control unit, and thus the user manipulates the selection indicator by watching the display screen while manipulating the keypad with a finger or thumb. Preferably, the touchpad or touchpads are disposed on the remote control unit so that they can be manipulated by the user's thumb while the user is holding the unit in one hand.
The human thumb is articulated for generally arcuate movement across a touchpad surface disposed on the face of the remote control unit. By bending at the knuckles, points on the touchpad may be reached that are radially inward from the extended arcuate sweep of the thumb's natural trajectory. Due to these physical constraints of the user's hand and thumb movement, some regions on the touchpad are easier to reach than others. Because each user's hand size and dexterity qualities are different, it becomes quite difficult to design a touch sensitive handheld remote control unit that will physically suit all users.
We have therefore developed a remote control system that detects hand size characteristics of the user and uses this detected information to map points on the touchpad onto points of the display screen to thereby assist the user in making selections on the display screen regardless of the size or geometric configuration of the screen's control region and regardless of the physical limitations of the user's hand and thumb movement geometry.